Basic question about impedance and watts

Goinbroke, thanks for the correction. That might be better than being under the Harmon umbrella.

Bombaywalla, you've got the idea. I think it was NAD, maybe 20 years ago, that was really pushing this concept. It does make some sense for budget gear. Of course there are no free rides and you rareley see more ambitious products touting this concept, even if they are capable of it.

Ketchup,
model CS3.5
Bandwidth (-3dB) 20Hz-22KHz
Amplitude Response 23Hz-20KHz +/- 2 dB
Phase Response minimum +/- 10 dgrees
Time Response minimum +/- 50uS
Sensitivity 89dB @ 1 watt-meter
Impedance 4 ohms
Recommended Power 50-250 watts
Size 33 X 33 X 107 cm
Weight 77 pounds

When I questioned Jim Thiel about the power recommendations he said that they were given with high quality (amps that could "double down") solid state (standard 8 Ohm) power ratings in mind, and that as such one should double those ratings if they chose to use tubes. Your power requirements will depend on your listening room and desired volume. Bottom line, the absolute minimum amp should be capable of providing 100 watts into 4 Ohms. IMHO you would be best served using a quality (quatliy is the operative word) amp capable of at least 200 watts into 4 Ohms. Plato is right on with regard to the equalizer!
BTW, Thiel recommended a least 1 foot from a rear wall, 3 feet from the side walls, and 8 feet from the listener, set up in an equilateral triangle as a start. Thiel also suggested that 3 feet from the back wall, 5 feet from the side walls, and 10 feet from the listener would be preferable.
Thiel also suggested quality cables tightly connected.
Thiel's customer service is second to none!
Good luck.

With all due respect to Elevick, I believe that Mondial the parent company for Aragon has recently been bought by Harmon. Judging by the previous comments posted here on Audiogon, I think it's fair to say that Harmon's reputation for customer service has been less than sterling. While Harmon may make a special case with these higher-end products, only time will tell and I think that untill further notice there may be more risk to owning Mondial products than previous owners may be accustomed to.

Ketchup, no I don't own the 3.5's. Your Thiels deserve a real quality amp. When they were new they were often paired with amps in excess of $3K. Your budget is a'hem, challenging. Here on Audiogon there are a couple of Aragon 4004's for sale, an older Threshold, an older Classe' and what I would personaly recommend (albeit a bit more money) a brand new Sonographe. Good luck.

3B ST!

Ketchup, while its not my first choice, I do like the Bryston 3B ST. As I said before, while the Thiels appreciate as much power as they can get, depending on your room and desired listening levels, I think a really top quality solid state amp rated at 100 watts into 8 Ohms that can double down is the place to start. The Thiel 3.5's are not very forgiving of abberations in the upper registers and can be a touch soft in the upper bass/lower mid range and a bit on the forward side.
They require the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove.

Bombaywalla, I thought dynamic headroom was in reference to an amps ability to increse its typical steady state power output for brief moments.